Body Falling Apart?

tcline

Member
In a one-act that I am directing, I need a character's body to fall apart. It doesn't have to look super realistic, but has to be clear enough what is happening that the audience will understand it. I believe that we have some fake limbs, but the problem is hiding them in the actor's costume/onstage so that she can easily "fall apart."

Thanks!
 
I believe that we have an arm, a leg, and possibly a foot....
The whole play is surreal, so I'm not incredibly concerned with the look being super realistic, it just has to be clear and make sense to an audience member.
 
If you have an arm and a leg, assuming you can get them to fall off from the same side of his body, maybe block it in such a way where he falls on his side (whichever side he has lost limbs from is the one away from the audience), maybe he is fallen on his back, while he kicks or disguises struggling about for flinging or rolling the fake limbs in front of him. Does that work for the context of the play? I mean, does he fall apart because he drank some poison, or is ripped apart from a firearm, or from some other form of dismemberment?
 
Otherwise, you could cause some commotion, maybe his body flailing about, and find a way to drop them from the sky or throw them on stage from the wings in the confusion. Is that an option?
 
It's a woman actor, and she "remembers" that she has been murdered, and then has to fall apart while her husband is commenting on it. About a page later, she also has to "pull herself together," and then go on in the play. She could clean up her own limbs, or move them afterwards, so I'm less concerned about that, and more just about the first time she's falling apart.
 
Oh allright. Just didn't think to write for both sexes.
As for the arm, if there is any way, put her in a coat or jacket where she can have her "real" arm tucked away to the side. Rig the fake one with velcro to the sleeve, with some trick line attached to it. Have someone yank on it when it's time for it to fly off, that should work ok. As for the leg, I think I would try to apply the same concept. Maybe you can put her in a dress somehow with her other leg concealed? Would that work?
 

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